Regulatory Investigations & Enforcement

Regulatory scrutiny is an increasingly common reality for organizations operating in today’s rapidly evolving privacy, AI, and cybersecurity landscape. Working alongside legal, compliance, business, engineering, and executive leadership, the Hintze Regulatory Group provides efficient and effective representation and strategic guidance to help companies of all sizes navigate response to inquiries, investigations, and enforcement matters by government entities and industry self-regulatory organizations.

Our Capabilities

Regulatory Investigations & Defense

Hintze represents clients responding to actions involving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR), state attorneys general, consumer protection agencies, and international data protection authorities. The firm’s experience includes FTC Section 5 investigations, Section 6(b) orders, COPPA, CCPA and other state comprehensive privacy law inquiries and complex multi-jurisdictional matters involving AI, privacy, and cybersecurity.

Regulatory Response Strategy

When organizations receive civil investigative demands, regulatory inquiries, or investigative orders, Hintze helps assess legal and factual issues, develop engagement strategies, identify remediation opportunities, and guide communications with government regulators and self-regulatory organizations throughout the investigation. The firm works to help clients respond efficiently while positioning them for the best possible outcome.

Compliance Remediation

Addressing AI, privacy, cybersecurity, and governance gaps, Hintze helps organizations develop remediation strategies and implement practical improvements designed to reduce future regulatory risk.

Regulatory Communications

Hintze works with clients to develop coordinated communications strategies that support regulatory objectives while helping manage interactions with regulators, customers, stakeholders, and the media when appropriate.

Consent Orders & Ongoing Compliance

Organizations navigating consent decrees, settlement agreements, and regulatory orders turn to Hintze for independent auditing capabilities and guidance on negotiation and implementation. The firm helps establish the policies, reporting processes, audits, and governance programs required to maintain ongoing compliance.

AI, Privacy, & Cybersecurity Investigations

Hintze represents organizations in investigations involving AI, privacy, cybersecurity, data breaches, software vulnerabilities, children’s privacy, biometric technologies, international data transfers, and health information privacy.

Government & International Regulatory Matters

With experience across U.S. federal and state agencies, as well as international data protection authorities, Hintze assists clients responding to regulatory inquiries and investigations. The firm handles matters involving FTC enforcement, HHS OCR, state privacy regulators, FCC inquiries, COPPA, HIPAA, CCPA, and cross-border data protection issues.

Technical & Operational Guidance

Working closely with technical teams, Hintze helps organizations understand complex systems and communicate technical issues clearly and accurately throughout the regulatory process.

Strategic Compliance Counseling

Hintze partners with clients to strengthen privacy, cybersecurity, and AI compliance programs that reduce regulatory risk, improve operational readiness, and help organizations navigate evolving legal requirements with confidence.

Representative Experience

Hintze attorneys have represented organizations across a broad range of public and non-public regulatory matters involving AI, privacy, cybersecurity, consumer protection, healthcare, telecommunications, digital advertising, gaming, social media, retail, financial services, and emerging technologies.

Our experience includes matters involving:

Public FTC Investigations

• COPPA investigation by the FTC into practices of OpenFeint, Inc. (closed successfully)
• Online privacy/Section 5 investigation by FTC into AdMob in connection with Google acquisition (closed successfully)
• In the Matter of HTC America Inc. – FTC Section 5 investigation, settlement, and ongoing order compliance involving allegations of mobile software security vulnerabilities and deceptiveness
• U.S. v. Musical.ly, Inc. (now TikTok) – FTC COPPA investigation and ongoing order compliance
• In the Matter of Microsoft Corporation – counseling on compliance with FTC consent decree relating to alleged “Passport” security violations (now closed without further violation)

Public EU Investigations

• WhatsApp, Inc. – joint investigation by Canadian and Dutch data protection authorities into handling of personal data (in coordination with local Dutch privacy counsel)

Section 6(b) Response:

• HTC America, Inc. in response to an FTC order seeking information about security practices in the mobile ecosystem
• Byte Dance (TikTok) in an investigation by the FTC seeking data about privacy practices of the social media and video streaming industry

Representative Non-Public Investigations Ongoing or Resulting in No Action

• Facial recognition security company in an FTC CID Section 5 & Privacy Shield investigation
• Video ad company in an FTC CID Privacy Shield investigation
• Recruitment/HR software company in an FTC CID Privacy Shield investigation
• Facial recognition company using data to train AI systems in an FTC CID Section 5 investigation
• Mobile app gaming company in an FTC CID COPPA investigation
• Health advertising company in an FTC CID Section 5 investigation
• Robot toy company in an FTC CID COPPA investigation
• Major mobile carrier company in response to FCC data practices inquiry
• Self-funded health plan in response to OCR investigation of HIPAA breach of enrolled individuals
• Business associate in response to an Illinois state AG investigation of HIPAA breach
• Mobile ad company in a California state AG COPPA investigation
• Major retailer in a California CPPA data subject rights investigation
• Major online sports platform in a California state AG CCPA investigation
• Major retail clothing company in a California state AG CCPA financial incentive program investigation
• Major social media company in a California state AG CCPA data sharing investigation
• Major telecommunications company in a California state AG CCPA identity verification investigation
• Major health platform in a Texas Data Privacy and Security Act investigation
• Major retailer in a Texas AG in a Texas Data Privacy and Security Act investigation.
• Numerous clients in response to Massachusetts AG in breach notice and security regulation inquiries
• News aggregator service in a CAN-SPAM investigation by a San Francisco city prosecutor
• Online ad company in an EU investigation
• Content creation company in an EU investigation

*Results not necessarily indicative of those that can be obtained for similar clients with different factual and legal circumstances.